I graduated college in '05 and I have NO problem remembering that cheer. Ah, there's nothin better than being a Zeta: the great girls, fun mixers, cynicism, finding friends you'll truly keep for a lifetime...and the marshmallow brownies we make for rush.

Rush, as I'll tell ya in the video, is tough: the long hours, panhellenic's ridiculous list of rules, the rehearsals, the meetings, the decorations, and on and on and on... The thing that made it tolerable, though, was seein all the sweet new girls running up the hill with their bid cards on bid day and the leftover brownies after skit night. These brownies should really come with a warning-

1) they're addictive as hell

2) they're sugary as hell

3) glass of milk is NECESSARY for true enjoyment

You could seriously run the risk of slipping into a diabetic coma from one of these bad boys. However, if you're a 20-year-old Zeta you're gonna need that sugar to not only get through the night's bid meeting, but also set up decorations for pref night. (I'm not about to go into details about what a 'skit' night or a 'pref' night is...i lived through it 3 times y'all...don't make me do it again). Now that I'm 28 I like to shovel these into my mouth just to see how my body'll react.

I like to keep my pancreas on its toes.

Brownies:

1 C butter, melted

2 C Sugar

1/2 C unsweetened coca powder

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 t vanilla

1/8 t salt

1 1/2 c all purpose flour

1 10.5 oz bag mini marshmallows

Whisk together melted butter and next 5 ingredients. Stir in flour. Pour batter into greased and floured 9' X 13' pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Take out of oven and sprinkle with marshmallows. Return to oven for 5 minutes.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

So I know the title of this blog is pretty dumb...but we're making Chess Pie today!!

Chess...Bobby Fischer...get it?

Anyhoo, there's something about chess pie that's massively southern and kinda nostalgic for me. It reminds me of Gibson's Bar-B-Q off Memorial Parkway in Huntsville, AL. They've got everything: piggie mascots, old lady waitresses, paneling from the '70's, long lines on Sunday after 'Big Church', barbque stuffed baked potatoes and PIE! And even though I've never had the chess pie at Gibson's, I associate this pie with this place. Funny, huh?

I've recently seen a chocolate version of chess pie at a place in Astoria, Queens. It's served in a jar and topped with peanut buttery stuff. Although that sounds delicious I call bull ca-ca. That ain't chess pie. Just 'cause it's served in a Ball Jar doesn't make it 'southern'. So now I give you: Lemony chess Pie (feat. whipped cream tutorial and apple pie interlude):

Recipe:

(I subbed the juice and zest of 2 small lemons for the vanilla and you GOTTA try that)

I cut myself a piece the next day and 'hold-onto-your-hats!' this is my new favorite. It's total 'GOOP' pie and the lemon-ness is PERFECT!!! I can't WAIT to make this again for company cause this sucker is all mine. Maybe Bobby Fischer woulda been pleasant if he had had a piece...

*Big credit to Dawn Harris for her general brilliance behind the camera*

Saturday, August 20, 2011

It's your buddy back for action and ready to COMPETE! Twice a year there's a 'Jazz Age Lawn Party' that's held on Governor's Island (off the southern tip of Manhattan) and I finally went! There's an incredible big band, charleston lessons and general '23 skidoo'-ness. And best of all...there's a pie baking contest.

Oh it's on now.

So I decide to bake my mom's (hereafter referred to as 'Mama Wynn') blueberry cream pie with pecan topping. Now... I remember her making this once and I never got a piece. It just sat in the 'beer fridge' in the garage awaiting company and taunting me. Anyhoo, here's the recipe card and 2 little videos of my sad attempt to make pretty crust and my successful attempt to make tasty pie.

Mama Wynn's recipe shorthand:

Big 'T'=Tablespoon

little 't'=teaspoon

As you can see, super tastiness was produced. The judges, however, failed to see the brilliance of my pie and I was awarded diddly squat.

I WAS ROBBED!

So what does one do when defeated? Comfort eat. I'll spare you the gory recipe details (we'll make this together soon) but here are some pics of the Mini Pecan Pies:

A more successful crust! I decided to roll it out on wax paper. That helped tremendously :)

Since these pies are 'mini' I used a wide mouth glass to cut out mini crusts. Ingenious, no?

The dough's still gonna be a jerk so I'm using a sharp knife to gently loosen the rounds from the wax paper. Then I gently pressed them into the muffin tin. No greasing necessary!

Friday, August 19, 2011

I've lived in Manhattan for almost 5 years now and (excusing the random smells and outrageous cost) have loved every minute. So why am I always 'fixin' to do' something with 'all y'all'? Why do I go to a football games in pearls? How is it that a good biscuit still beats a good bagel any day? And why, when asked where I'm from, I always say 'Alabama' and not 'Washington Heights'? That's a tough one to answer but I can wrap it up in a song lyric:

My home's in Alabama/

No matter where I lay my head/

My home's in Alabama/

Southern born and southern bred

There's just this pride that comes from being an Alabamian...and it's hard to explain. Is it the generous hospitality? Is it our 'colorful' families and their histories (Whey'ah d'yo'ah PEEPLE come frum?). Or is it all the traditions: storytelling, jazz, rock n' roll, bluegrass, FOOTBALL, cotillions, the food? All of that is somethin' for me to be proud of but if it were just the FOOD...that'd be enough.

I feel like there's a move in New York (the hoity-toity cuisine capital of the U.S.) towards comfort food, and southern or 'soul' food in particular. BBQ joints are popping up left and right. Fried chicken is actually 'trendy' up here! There are even whole restaurants devoted to macaroni and cheese. But where, you shee-shee New Yorkers, are your cheese straws and piminto cheese? Where are your caramel cakes and pecan and chess pies? Where is your fried okra, green beans with ham hock, and REAL cornbread? And where the hell are my biscuits??

An animated crab once said 'If you want somethin done right, you gotta do it yourself' and I agree. So the last few times I went home I asked my mom to go through her old recipes with me. Out poured not only dish after delicious dish, but also some really sweet stories and wonderful memories, too. I couldn't wait to get home and try them all again. So I started baking. And baking. And baking some more. And eating. And baking again.

Oh, and that's an important little snibbit about me...I'm a HOOKER for baked goods. Chocolate, pies, cakes, cookies, pastries, candy, you name it (except licorice...eff that stuff) I'll hoover it. Thank God this is a 'walking' city cause you'd be looking at a plump lady if it weren't.

So here goes my little blog experiment:

-make a bunch of weird but instructional videos while baking southern and personal favorites

-spread the southern goodness not only in New York but to...ya know...whoever's gonna read this thing